Delta Airlines taking the Lumia 820 on board for customer service

Nokia has announced that Delta Airlines will be rolling out the Lumia 820 Windows Phone to more than 19,000 of its flight attendants. The hardware will be used for on-board payments and to improve the overall experience for customers. Not only is the device sleek looking, but you've got better security and of course the Modern UI that makes it a perfect choice for the company.

The solution was jointly developed by Microsoft, Avanade and AT&T with extensive consultation with flight attendants at Delta. Rocking out in-flight trials before the roll-out, the Windows Phones were shown to be around 10 percent faster than previous systems utilised. The experience is built on Avanade for point of sale (POS), loaded on the Microsoft Dynamics for Retail mobile point-of-sale platform.

What does this mean in non-gibberish? Flight attendants will be able to handle real-time credit card transactions for purchases made mid-flight, including seating upgrades. Passengers will also be able to use pre-paid credit cards, and Microsoft Office with Outlook ensures the employees can remain productive when not dealing with passengers.

This is just the beginning too. It's reported that Delta will add the ability to read coupons displayed on a customer's mobile device, as well as providing attendants with relevant customer-specific information through the Lumia 820 to help them offer a more personalised experience to passengers. There's nothing better, as a passenger, to feel as though the flight attendants know that little bit more about you to really start the journey off.

As well as the new announcement from Delta about the Lumia 820 introduction, the carrier also sports a Fly Delta app on Windows Phone. Nokia has previously enjoyed bringing companies and big brands aboard with Windows Phone, but it's great to see Microsoft also actively working hard to drum up custom with the platform.

Me too. I've told many people to not bet against them. They are determined to get back to being a major player in the market. And they know what they're doing. The 520 and 1020 are both masterstrokes that no other manufacturer has been able to equal. Then there's the software support. I've become such a huge Nokia fan.

Funny you say that. I know numerous Airlines have either just begun or just finished an iPad rollout. I bet tthey are kicking themselves now knowing that there are Microsoft tablets for less money and can be developed by their existing developers.

This is HUGE in my opinion. It may only be 19k devices, but the fact that a major airline will be using these devices for POS is a MASSIVE WIN.
I think the 820 is a perfect choice, they were probably able to get them at a good price, they have a fast processor and are a great size.
Agree with Viipottaja - this is by far the most significant corporate announcement to date.

How about "They mostly support Apple"? The Windows RT version is nothing more than a terminal and not a POS system like on the iPad. The backend is rather sparse too - like inventory tables with no place to enter a quantity - lol.

I made the move to WP because they had an app the week I got my phone was the week they pulled from the store. Square wouldn't pay me said it was fraud but wouldn't refund my client. It took over a year and getting a lawyer involved.

So one gripe I often hear about Windows Phone is that it doesn't have a credit card swipe add-on with accompanying app, so small businesses can't switch to WP. But this article implies WP can do credit card transactions. What's the scoop?

I think this deal shows the value of the quality of Nokia's products and the WP OS, but also the importance of having products in a range of sizes. Most flight attendants are women, and size and weight of equipment is always an issue on an airplane as well. And the 820 is a quality, high end device in a smaller package than the 92x devices. I was thinking about this because my wife just told me that the 820 I got her a few months ago is the first mobile phone shes has liked using. The color was important to her, but more importantly was the way the phone fits in her smaller hands.
This shows the wisdom of Nokia's strategy, but also validates the focus of the Windows Phone team on making sure the OS can work on as wide a variety of devices as possible.

Wait a minute.
According to the pre-flight announcment we've all had drilled into our head: "For the safety of the passengers and crew, all mobile devices must be turned off while in flight".
<sarcasticRemark>
So either the plane will crash and burn while paying for thier peanuts, or everyone will want to turn on their own phone, WP or not.
</sarcasticRemark>

Mwah, mwah...yeah, so you were never able to turn of the cell and use the WiFi only? It works as a regular device and then you can use it past 10k ft...which is when they will use it. How badly did I kill the joke? ;)

The Register reports that the actual numbers should be less then 19k. 19K is the number of employees but not all are going to be carrying around the Lumia. My take is if Delta has 700 planes and there are at least two 820s on board, that means altogether there should be about 1400 or say a round off figure of 1500.

Hate to say it, but you are wrong. Delta has 80,000 employees...12,000 who are pilots (all of whom who are getting windows 8 tablets) and approximately 19,000 flight attendants (who are getting the 820's)...so the article is correct.

You need to realize that on average there are 4 flight attendants per flight. Each of those 700 planes will see 2 or 3 different flight crews per day. Additionally, each flight attendant works 3-4 days per week. Oh yes...there are some flight attendants who are on reserve, waiting for someone to call out sick. Same goes for the pilots too.

Therefore, I disagree with you and The Register. What or who is my source? A retired Delta Airlines captain, who happens to be my father.

This is completely awesome!
Not only will the flight attendants be rockin' these devices beside a captive audience, this news will also find it's way to mainstream news-outlets because of its size, and the fact that everyone knows Delta.
Most likely, this will start turning around all the negative press WP has been getting "WP tiny", "WP no future" etc. etc.
Excellent news!